Guidance

Maritime and Coastguard Agency quick guide to fees – November 2018

Published 22 October 2018

Please note that this summary of our main maritime fees is drawn from formal legislation and is intended as a quick guide only.

For a full account of the MCA’s revised fees and the context in which they should be applied, please refer to the Statutory Instrument.

For further confirmation of the fees you can expect to pay for various services, please check with your local Maritime and Coastguard Agency contact.

Standard hourly survey fee

Our standard hourly rate will be increasing to £120 per hour from 13 November 2018 and then to £147 per hour from 13 November 2019.

Certificates and Examinations for Officers

Cancellation of application

1. 1. Where an application for an examination covered under item 1 in the table below is cancelled after the fee has been paid, a refund must be made of—

   1. (a) £152 in the case of cancellation before a notice of eligibility has been issued,

   2. or

   3. (b) £130 in the case of cancellation after a notice of eligibility has been issued.

Table of fees

Item	Subject of fee	Amount of fee
1	The assessment of an application for a Certificate of Competency, the practical oral part of the examination, and the issue of a Certificate once the qualifying conditions are met	£220
2	Resitting an examination in relation to item 1	£159
3	An initial assessment for qualification as a marine Engineer Officer (merchant ship)	£121
4	The replacement of a lost certificate	£77
5	An application for a certificate not requiring an oral examination	£77
6	The addition or removal of, or amendment to, an endorsement or tanker endorsement	£73
7	An application for a certificate of continued proficiency and updating of knowledge	£54

Certificates of Equivalent Competency

Withdrawal or rejection of application

Where an application in relation to item 2 in the table below is withdrawn or rejected after the prescribed fee has been paid on the grounds that the applicant does not meet the preliminary criteria for detailed assessment, £50 must be refunded.

Table of Fees

Item	Subject of fee	Amount of fee
1	Interim application for assessment in case of urgency	£74
2	An application for consideration of a person’s qualifications for issue of a certificate, including the issue thereof	£109
3	The issue of a subsequent temporary certificate	£109
4	The issue of a certificate as an officer	£74
5	An oral examination for competency	£134
6	An oral examination to assess both a candidate’s standard of English and knowledge of United Kingdom legal and administrative processes	£126
7	An oral examination to assess either (but not both) a candidate’s— (a) standard of English; or (b) knowledge of United Kingdom legal and administrative processes	£86
8	The addition or removal of, or amendment to, an endorsement or tanker endorsement	£73
9	An application for a certificate of continued proficiency and updating of knowledge	£109

Table of miscellaneous qualifications

Table of fees

Item	Subject of fee	Amount of fee
1	An examination for a licence as marine engine operator or senior marine engine operator under regulation 7 of the Merchant Shipping (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) Regulations 2015[footnote 1]	£215
2	An application for—
	(a) a certificate of qualification as efficient deck hand, or	£34
	(b) a certificate of proficiency in survival craft, where the examination has been taken at a centre specially approved by the Secretary of State	£34
3	An application for a certificate of proficiency as an able seafarer deck under regulation 16, or an able seafarer engine under regulation 17, of the Merchant Shipping (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) Regulations 2015	£34
4	An examination by an approved medical practitioner for a medical fitness certificate under the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Medical Examination) Regulations 2010[footnote 2] —
	(a) carried out on or after 13th November 2018 but before 13th November 2019	£95
	(b) carried out on or after 13th November 2019 but before 13th November 2020	£105
	(c) carried out on or after November 2020	£115
5	An application for a Vessel Traffic Services Certification Logbook in accordance with Marine Guidance Note 434[footnote 3]	£57
6	An application for a Yacht Rating Certificate in accordance with Merchant Shipping Notice 1862[footnote 4]	£57
7	An application for a Watch Rating Certificate under regulation 14 or 15 of the Merchant Shipping (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) Regulations 2015	£57
8	An examination for a Compass Adjuster’s Certificate in accordance with Marine Guidance Note 279[footnote 5]	£462

Boatmasters’ Licences and Certificates

Table of fees

Item	Subject of fee	Amount of fee
1	The combined practical and oral assessment for the boatmaster’s licence, taken on the same occasion	£241
2	The practical test part of the assessment for the boatmaster’s licence	£195
3	The oral test part of the assessment for the boatmaster’s licence	£65
4	The issue of a boatmaster’s licence, certificate or paper endorsement	£23
5	The revalidation of a boatmaster’s licence, certificate or paper endorsement	£31
6	The upgrading of—
	(a) a boatmaster’s licence of any Tier or Level; or	£31
	(b) Group B boatmaster’s certificate to Group A	£31
7	The inclusion of—
	(a) an additional operation; or	£62
	(b) an additional operational area on a Tier 2 boatmaster’s licence	£62
8	The replacement of a lost boatmaster’s licence or boatmaster’s certificate, except where the loss occurred through no fault of the holder	£23
9	An assessment for a specialist or relevant local knowledge endorsement on a boatmaster’s licence—
	(a) if taken with a generic licence assessment;	£109
	(b) if taken separately	£212
10	An assessment for a supplementary licence by the holder of a Rhine navigation licence	£109

Safe Manning Certificates

Table of fees

Item	Subject of fee	Amount of fee
1	An application for a safe manning certificate	£199
2	An application for an amendment to a certificate	£141
3	The issue of a safe manning certificate for a sister ship where the manning requirements are identical to the ship which has previously been issued a safe manning certificate	£83

Registration, Transfer and Mortgage of Ships (other than Fishing Vessels) and Related Matters

Please note that for the premium service, the fee in column 4 is payable in addition to the fee prescribed in column 3.

1. If you apply for more than one change in the Register relating to the same ship,

   1. (c) the fee for the first change is £46;

   2. (d) the fee for the second and each subsequent change is £17; and

   3. (e) the fee for premium service is £100 in addition to the aggregate of the other fees.

Table of fees

Item	Subject of fee	Amount of fee	Premium service fee
1	The registration of a ship, including registration of a ship whose registration has expired	£153	£180
2	The registration of transfer of ownership of a registered ship—
	(a) for the first or only transfer;	£105	£100
	(b) for the second and each subsequent transfer	£20	n/a
3	The renewal of a registration under regulation 42 of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993[footnote 6]	£72	£100
4	The registration of a mortgage—
	(a) for the first or only mortgage;	£101	£100
	(b) for the second and each additional mortgage	£19	n/a
5	The registration of a notice of intended mortgage	£37	£50
6	The issue of a duplicate certificate	£32	£50
7	Issue of transcripts of entries in the Register relating to any one ship—
	(a) for current entries;	£29	£50
	(b) for other entries	£46	£50
8	Personal inspection of the Register (per hour or part of an hour)	£11	n/a
9	The registration of a change of name of a ship	£46	£100
10	The registration of a change of port of choice	£46	£100
11	The registration of a change of measurement, tonnage or engine particulars recorded in the Register	£46	£100
12	Transfer to a port in a British possession	£52	£100
13	Transfer from a port in a British possession	£135	£100
14	An application to the Registrar for provisional registration of a ship	£175	£140
15	The registration of a ship following provisional registration by the Registrar	£75	£50
16	The issue of a certificate of registration for a small ship in Part III of the Register, or an amended certificate or duplicate copy of the certificate	£35	£50
17	The issue of a transcript of entries in Part III of the Register relating to any one ship—
	(a) for current entries;	£29	£50

Registration, Transfer and Mortgage of Fishing Vessels and Related Matters

Please note that for the premium service, the fee in column 4 is payable in addition to the fee prescribed in column 3.

1. If you apply for more than one change in the Register relating to the same ship,

   1. (a) the fee for the first change is £46;

   2. (b) the fee for the second and each subsequent change is £17;

   3. (c) the fee for premium service is £100 in addition to the aggregate of the other fees.

Table of fees

Item	Subject of fee	Amount of fee	Premium service fee
1	The registration of a fishing vessel, including registration of a vessel whose registration has expired —
	(a) with full registration;	£196	£180
	(b) with simple registration	£159	n/a
2	The registration of transfer of ownership of a registered fishing vessel—
	(a) with full registration;	£105	£100
	(b) with simple registration;	£88	£100
	(c) where more than one transfer is registered on any occasion, for each additional transfer	£21	n/a
3	The renewal of a registration under regulation 42 of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993	£70	£100
4	A change of registration from simple to full registration	£88	£100
5	The registration of a mortgage—
	(a) where one mortgage only is registered;	£101	£100
	(b) where more than one mortgage is registered on any occasion, for each additional mortgage	£13	n/a
6	The registration of a notice of intended mortgage	£37	£50
7	The issue of a duplicate certificate	£32	£50
8	The issue of a transcript of entries in the register relating to any one fishing vessel—
	(a) for current entries;	£32	£50
	(b) for other entries	£46	£50
9	Personal inspection of the Register (per hour or part of an hour)	£11	n/a
10	The registration of a change of name of a fishing vessel	£53	£100
11	The registration of a change of port of choice or port number or both	£53	£100
12	The registration of a change of measurement, tonnage or engine particulars recorded in the register	£53	£100
13	An application to the Registrar for provisional registration of a fishing vessel—
	(a) with full registration;	£179	£140
	(b) with simple registration	£155	n/a
14	The registration of a fishing vessel following provisional registration by the Registrar	£75	£50

Registration of Hovercraft

The fee payable on an application for the registration of a hovercraft under article 5 of the Hovercraft (General) Order 1972^{[footnote 7]} is £153.

Copies of, and Extracts from, Documents

1. 1. In this part, “copy” means a certified copy of—

   1. (a) a declaration or other document, a copy of which is made evidence by virtue of the Act, or

   2. (b) an extract from a document declared by the Act to be admissible in evidence.

2. 2. The fee for a copy of a document is £15 for each hour or part of an hour required for copying.

3. 3. Where a person requests and receives premium service, a fee of £50 is payable in addition to the aggregate of the fees for copying done on the same occasion.

Seamen’s Documents

Fees for issue of documents

The fee for the issue, or replacement, of a British Seaman’s Card or a discharge book is £55. If you request and receive premium service, a fee of £50 is payable in addition to the aggregate of the fees for documents issued on the same occasion.

Lost documents

No fee is payable in respect of a replacement British Seaman’s Card or discharge book where the document has been lost, destroyed or defaced through no fault of the holder.

Compulsory Insurance Certificates

The fee payable on an application for the issue of a certificate under section 164 of the Act (which relates to certificates of compulsory insurance against liability for pollution) is £31.

The fee payable on an application for the issue of a certificate under section 255N^{[footnote 8]} of the Act (which relates to wreck removal insurance satisfying the requirements of the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks 2007^{[footnote 9]}) is £31.

Additional Charges (Waiting Time, Abortive Visits and Attendance at Unusual Hours)

Where an inspection is delayed or is disrupted during its course or a visit to carry out an inspection is abortive, a fee calculated at the standard hourly rate for the delay caused or time wasted is chargeable.

1. The fee is not chargeable where—

   1. (a) the delay or time wasted is less than one hour in total or is due to circumstances over which the applicant has no control; or

   2. (b) the person carrying out the inspection is reasonably able to perform other work in the vicinity for which a fee has been paid.

Where any part of an inspection is carried out between 6pm and 8am on a weekday night or at any time on a Saturday, an additional fee of £74 per hour is chargeable for that part.

Where any part of an inspection is carried out in Scotland at any time on a Sunday or a Bank Holiday, an additional fee calculated at the standard hourly rate is chargeable for that part.

Where any part of an inspection is carried out in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland at any time on a Sunday or a Bank Holiday, or on Good Friday or Christmas Day, an additional fee calculated at the standard hourly rate is chargeable for that part.

Only one additional fee is charged to cover attendance at unusual hours, if a part of an inspection covers two or more of the periods described above.

Waste Management

The fee for the Secretary of State’s consideration and, if appropriate, approval or re- approval of a waste management plan prepared and submitted by a harbour authority or terminal operator in respect of a harbour or terminal pursuant, as the case may be, to regulation 6(1) or (2) or 8(1) of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Port Waste Reception Facilities) Regulations 2003^{[footnote 10]} (“the Regulations”) is charged at the standard hourly rate. The fee for the preparation by the Secretary of State of a waste management plan in respect of a harbour or terminal pursuant to regulation 9 of the Regulations is charged at the standard hourly rate.

The fee for the issue by the Secretary of State of an exemption in respect of a harbour authority or terminal operator pursuant to regulation 15(1) and (2) of the Regulations, or in respect of a ship pursuant to regulation 15(3) of the Regulations, is £147.

Strategic Ships

The fee for the issue by the Secretary of State of an exemption, pursuant to section 48 of the Act (power to exempt from manning requirements), from the requirements in regulation 3 of the Merchant Shipping (Officer Nationality) Regulations 1995^{[footnote 11]} relating to a strategic ship is £250.

1. S.I.2015/782. ↩

2. S.I. 2010/737, amended by S.I. 2014/1614. ↩

3. See MGN 434 (M+F) Amendment 1 Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) - Training and Certification of VTS Personnel. ↩

4. See MSN 1862 (M) UK requirements for deck ratings. ↩

5. See MGN 279 (M) Certificate of competency as compass adjuster. ↩

6. S.I. 1993/3138, relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1998/1915 and 1999/3206. ↩

7. S.I. 1972/674, amended by S.I. 1989/1351, 1996/3173 and 2004/302. ↩

8. Section 255N was inserted by the Wreck Removal Convention Act 2011 (c. 8). ↩

9. The text of the Convention is set out in Schedule 11ZA to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, which was inserted by the Wreck Removal Convention Act 2011. ↩

10. S.I. 2003/1809, amended by S.I. 2009/1176. ↩

11. S.I 1995/1427. ↩